Surprisingly Cool (And Useful!) Tool: Garlic Peeler

This square of rubber may not look like much, but in the last few weeks, it has quickly become one of my new favorite kitchen tools. It has single-handedly transformed the task of peeling persnickety cloves of garlic from annoying to easy-breezy.

This garlic peeler is genius in its very simplicity. Bundle the cloves inside the rubber mat and roll it back and forth against the counter a few times while pressing down on the cloves. The rubber grips the papery skins and tears them away without damaging the garlic. Unroll, pick out the cloves, and brush the skins into the trash.

Done. It works like a charm, every time.

There doesn't seem to be anything special to the rubber itself. If you have some rubber shelf-liner lying around, you could probably cut off a square and make your own. Even so, the official product is an inexpensive purchase for such a handy tool: